The past haunts the present
by busigt-81
Summary: Stepping out of the elevator behind them came three armed and masked men. Before any of the NCIS agents could open their drawers and grabbed their guns, two of the men pointed their guns at Abby and Ducky's head.
1. Chapter 1

**The past hunts the present**

**Chapter 1**

It was late and the bullpen was dark and quiet. Only three people were still there, one woman and two men, each one of them were working at their own desks. Occasionally one of them would pause, raise their head and look over to a fourth desk. An empty desk.  
They used to be four but he was gone, he had left and no one knew if it was forever or if he would come back.

McGee looked at the empty desk, frowning and thinking. If someone had told him that Gibbs would leave NCIS by his own free will he would have laughed, and if that someone had told him that he would miss his boss this much, he would have asked that someone them if he had recently escaped from a mental hospital.  
McGee sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. Here he was in a very quiet bullpen working on a case without Gibbs and he was actually missing his boss very much.

Not that Tony wasn't doing a great job to hold the team together, he was really good, but the Director had been working them non stop since Gibbs left, and it was starting to take it's toll on the team.  
McGee cast a long last glance at the empty desk before he sighed again and turned back to his work.

Ziva closed her eyes and rolled her shoulders, she hated to sit behind a desk but she knew that it was a part of the job. A part of the job she loved.  
She opened her eyes and looked at the empty desk. Gibbs' empty desk. It had been a month since Gibbs handed Tony his gun and badge before he walked away from them, leaving them.  
They had been working non stop since then, Director Shepard had handed them a new case as soon they were finished with last one. Maybe she thought that she should keep them busy so they wouldn't think to much about Gibbs or maybe she was punishing them for his leaving.  
Ziva didn't know the reason, all she knew was that it was starting to get to be to much and she wanted Gibbs back, they needed him.

Tony was doing his job very well, she thought. But she knew that it wasn't so easy for him. Gibbs shoes were very hard to fill, and it was more difficult for him because Director Shepard was breathing down his neck all the time.  
Ziva sighed, shook her head a little before she turned back to the work which was still waiting for her.

Tony tried his best to avoid looking at the empty desk that stood across from his. He could understand why Gibbs wanted to leave the NCIS after the incident at MTAC, but still it hurt like hell to see that empty desk. NCIS would never be the same without Gibbs barking orders and slapping the back of his head.  
It had been a month, a month without any calls or messages and that hurt even more. It made Tony want to lay down and cry but he couldn't do that. He couldn't be mad at Gibbs for forgetting about what they had shared before the explosion, it had been new for both of them. But the look in his boss eyes as he handed him his badge and gun, had sent him some hope. The recognition, regret and something else in those ice blue eyes had sent shivers down his spine. But he started to think that it was really over.  
Tony sighed as he closed his eyes, trying to erase the empty desk from his mind. Maybe it was time for him to move on. The Director seemed to think so; she controlled his every move and her eyes looked at him accusingly.

God, he really wanted Gibbs back.  
The phone on his desk started to ring, bring him back from his thoughts and he picked it up, answering with his surname first.  
"Special Agent DiNozzo, I'll be down in ten minutes and I'm expecting that you will call Abby and Dr. Mallard to be there then." The sound of the Director's cold voice made the hair on his neck stand up.  
"Yes, Madam Director." Tony said in a short voice. "May I ask why?"  
"Agent Fornell called." She said in annoyed voice. "Apparently someone has set a price on Gibbs head. I'll tell you more when I come down."  
"Yes, Madam Director." Tony hung up and told Ziva and McGee about what she just said, then he called Ducky and McGee called Abby.  
Just as they hung up their phones Director Shepard walked down the stairs and strode into the bullpen.  
"What is this all about, Madam Director?" Ziva asked. She was the only one that the Director didn't look at like she wanted to bite their head off.  
"Agent Fornell called to warn us and Gibbs that someone of his enemies has set a price on his head, not killing him but wanting to get him"  
"Who?" McGee dared to ask but looked away from her as she looked at him.  
"He didn't know but Fornell knows that the guy would do ANYTHING to get to Gibbs, apparently." Her voice was chilling as she looked at McGee and then at Tony.  
The elevator announced the arrival of Ducky and Abby, Director Shepard was just about to say something when she saw that they wasn't alone.  
Stepping out of the elevator behind them came three armed and masked men. Before any of the NCIS agents could open their drawer and grabbed their guns, two of the men pointed their guns at Abby and Ducky's head.  
"Hands on your desks." The third man said. "Or Dr Mallard and miss Scuito will be shot in their heads."  
Tony, Ziva and McGee did as they were told, planting their hands palms down upon their desks and then the men shoved Abby and Ducky into the bullpen.  
"What do you want?" The Director asked in a demanding voice.  
"We want you to sit down there, behind Special Agent Gibbs desk, hands on it like the others and then keep your mouth shut until you are spoken to." The man said as he pointed at Gibbs desk.  
The Director did as she was told. Then the man turned and pointed his weapon at Tony.  
"Special Agent DiNozzo, I want you to stand up so Dr Mallard can sit down at your desk. Then I want you to go and get a chair for miss Scuito. Don't try anything or she will be shot in the head." The man behind Abby set his weapon against her head, Abby looked terrified so Tony looked her in the eyes and sent her a little reassuring smile as he nodded and walked over to get a chair to her.  
Ducky was moved so he was sitting in Tony's chair, Tony was told to position Abby's chair next to the Director and he did it.  
Tony looked at Abby with calm green eyes and so she felt a bit safer, then he turned to the armed men, his hands half raised showing that he held no threat.  
"What now?" He said in calm voice.  
"I want you to cuff Agent McGee and Officer David to their chairs with their own handcuffs. Do it slowly." Tony nodded and walked towards McGee first, fishing out his cuffs before doing the same with Ziva. Three guns was pointing at him and followed his every move. When he was ready he moved into the aisle and looked at the man who had spoken.  
"Good, now I want you to do the same with Director Shepard, using Special Agent Gibbs cuffs." Tony moved towards Gibbs desk when one of the guns was shoved hard into his side. "Don't try to use the gun that lies beside them." The voice was without any emotions, Tony nodded before doing it. He didn't look at the Director as he cuffed her to Gibbs chair.  
Then he was told to do the same with Ducky using his own cuffs and then Abby with a pair extra that was hidden in Gibbs desk than none of them had known about.  
After Tony had secured his friends and the Director, he turned around and looked at the armed men with defiance in his green eyes.  
"And now what?" His voice was still calm but had a fierce tone in it.  
The man who had done the talking walked up to Tony, grabbed his arms non gently and spun him around then he fished out a plastic cable tie out of his pocket. Then he forced Tony's arms behind his back, put the cable tie around Tony's wrist and tightened it. "It isn't to tight, huh?" The man said with his voice colored by a smile as he pushed Tony forward into the aisle, making the agent stumble and go down his knees.  
"No!" Abby screamed, the fear evident in her eyes.  
But before any of the armed men could do anything, Tony was on his feet and looking at Abby.  
"It's okay Abs." He said in a calm voice. "Just relax and this will be over soon."  
Abby nodded as Tony looked at her straight in the eyes. Then he turned around and leaned onto his desk. His eyes was on the armed men, daring the men to touch her but they kept away.  
Then the man who seemed to be in charge walked over to Tony, positioning himself in front of the young agent and stared him in the eyes. Tony met the stare, the man had brown eyes, with calm and showed no emotions as his mind raced. Who was these men? How could they know so much about the office and the team? His thoughts were interrupted when the man spoke again his eyes still on Tony.  
"I want to know where Special Agent Gibbs is." The man looked around the bullpen before continuing. "I want to know if he is on vacation or undercover, I want you...", he pointed at each of them ,"to tell me where he is."  
So they don't know everything, Tony thought as he looked at Ziva and McGee. They met his eyes and understood, they wouldn't tell anything about Gibbs. Tony was going to handle the talk.  
"If you are gonna look at someone, Special Agent DiNozzo, then look at me!" The man grabbed Tony by the chin so Tony was looking at him again.  
"Sorry but you aren't that nice to look at." Tony said with a sarcastic tone as he smiled and he heard Ziva snicker. The man's brown eyes widened at the insult and then he hit Tony hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of the agent.  
"Tell me where Leroy Jethro Gibbs is!" The voice was very angry now.  
Tony tried to control his breathing as he straightened himself up to look into the brown eyes.  
"No." was all he said.  
This time the fist connected with Tony's cheekbone, making him see stars and almost fall but the man had grabbed his shirt so he didn't fall.  
"Stop it!" Abby yelled and Ziva looked at the man with murder in her eyes. Be quite miss Scuito or you will be next."  
"Don't you dare to touch her." Tony stood up on his feet, ignoring the dizziness and looked into the brown eyes. He was a half head taller then the armed man, so he had to look up at Tony to keep the eye contact.  
Tony had murder in his eyes, so the two other armed men stepped closer to them as the tension grew between the agent and their leader.

TBC

AN: BIG thanks to PYRO who helped me with this chapter. Tell me what you think and the rest will be up soon.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: I just want to warn you that this chapter aren't beataread yet so there maybe some grammar and spelling misstake. So if you read it, I warned ya. Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad that you liked it and I hope that you will like this also...

The Past Haunts The Present

Chapter 2

"What did you just say?" The masked man asked Tony.

"I said: don't you dare." Tony said in a calm voice as he looked into the other mans eyes.

The man kept eye contact with Tony and you could almost cut the tension between the two men with a knife. Then man looked away, waved at his two men and they walked away to exchange words in low voices.

Tony sat back on the desk and then looked over to Abby with a reassuring smile.

"Are you okay, Abs?"

"Am I okay?" Abby asked, looking at him with a look that said are your stupid. But her voice was filled with concern as she said: "I'm okay but I'm not the one being punched, Tony. How are you?"

"I'm fine, Abs." Tony looked at the others with question in his eyes, not wanting them to talk but felt the need to check that they were alright. They were his responsibility and he had to make sure that they would be alright.

So he met the eyes of his co-workers with confidence and was glad when they answered him back with nods, they all seemed alright.

He avoided eye contact with the Director and then turned back to watched the armed men.

They stood a bit further away, the leader spoken in a hush voice to his men as he glanced around the bullpen but his eyes stopped on Tony and he kept his eyes on the agent.

The team leader tried not to shift under the other mans glare, while he started to think about the situation.

The men had to be hired or something by Gibbs old enemy, they moved in a professional way, they knew alot about the team and about things that they came in contact everyday. But they didn't know that Gibbs had left them.

They wanted information on the older NCIS-agents whereabouts, the question in Tony's mind was: how far would they go to get the answer?

Tony frowned, he would never let anyone hurt one of his team mates so how would he get them out of this situation?

The masked men still stood close together but now the leader was talking quietly into a cellphone. Tony watched as the man nodded several times and then hung up the phone. He said something to his men and they all moved into the bullpen again.

The leader kept his eyes on Tony as he walked up to the agent, he stopped just in front of him and stood there quietly, glaring at him.

"I want to know where Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs are." He said, his eyes still on Tony. "If you don't tell me his whereabouts, you will regret it." He looked around the bullpen, staring at each of the NCIS- staff in the eyes. When no one said something, he took a small step towards Abby and in a instant Tony was on his feet, blocking the mans way.

They stared at each other for a while neither of them wanting to back down.

"Take it easy, Special Agent DiNozzo. I'm not going to hurt her." The man said but Tony still didn't back down.

Before anyone could react one of the other men grabbed Tony's bound arms, laid an arm around the agents throat and suddenly he had a big hunting knife in his other hand. He pressed it against Tony's throat and the others gasped out loud.

Ziva did everything she possibly could get out of the chair and the cuffs but she couldn't do anything,

McGee was pale as he also tried but he realized that his tries were useless.

Abby just looked at Tony with tears mixed with mascara falling down her cheeks.

"Please, people, calm down." The leader said as he walked up to the trapped agent, shook his head a little before turning around to address the others. "I believe that none of you knows where Special Agent Gibbs are but I know that at least one of you knows how to get in contact with him. So this is what we are going to do." He looked at each member of the team including the Director in the eye before he placed himself beside Tony and the man holding him. He laid a hand on Tony's shoulder. "We'll take a person from this room with us and we'll give the rest of you 24 hours to find and contact Special Agent Gibbs. Then we'll contact you and will take it from there."

The silence grew thick as they all thought about what the man just said.

Tony steeled himself, he couldn't let them do this. Gibbs would never forgive him if he let these men take one of his team members, not even the Director, like this.

Mostly he wouldn't forgive himself, he was the team leader now and they were his responsibility. He was supposed to keep them safe.

Tony closed his eyes briefly, trying to ignore the knife against his throat and the hand on his shoulder as he hears Gibbs disapproving voice in his head:

_"I left the team to you, DiNozzo. You were supposed to take care of them."_

He opened his eyes again trying to figure something out that would stop them. Tony meet Ziva's eyes and they both knew that they couldn't do anything.

"So we will take Special Agent DiNozzo with us and you all will do your best to find your boss."

Before any of the team members could react the men started to move and shoved Tony in front them, making the agent go down on his knees beside Ziva's desk who outraged looked at the leader.

"If you harm him..." She said as she stared coldly at the leader. "Both Gibbs and me will haunt you to the end of the world and back."

"Don't worry, Officer David." The leader said. "We'll take good care of him."

The three armed men walked out, one of them pushing Tony hard in front of them. Abby looked after them tears rapidly falling down her cheeks. Her eyes met Tony's one last time before the elevator doors closed.

The rest of the team stared at the elevator and they all knew that Tony were in real trouble now.

* * *

Gibbs was sitting on the beach, a beer in his left hand as he looked out over the ocean. His memories were coming back to him and he was sorting them out. It was like laying a big puzzle and not an easy task.

He looked up as he heard Franks walking towards him, then he saw the satellite phone in his hands and suddenly he got an uneasy feeling in the deep of his stomach.

* * *

Tony was shoved into the backseat of a black sedan with tinted windows, one of the masked men jumped into the backseat with him while the leader got into the front passenger seat and the third men got into the drivers.

Tony tried to ignore the pain that came from his tightly bound wrist and arms as he landed on them. It took him a few minutes to find a somewhat comfy position and when he finally found it, he felt something warm trickling into his hands.

The plastic ties had chafed his wrist so mush that they started to bleed, he sighed to himself as he tried to ignore the burning feel and he looked forward.

"So were are we going?" He asked. "I'm starting to get hungry so if you could stop at McDonald's..."

The man next to him hit him hard in the face, making Tony's world go grey at the edges. He shook his head a little to clear it and then said: "So that's a no to hamburgers, but a pizza?"

Yet again the man hit him in the same place, it took him a little longer to clear his head but he opened his mouth again: "Alrighty then no hamburger and no pizza. Pasta?"

The man beside him made a move to hit him again but was stopped by the leader.

"Stop it. If you don't knock him unconscious, I'm sure that he can keep this going the whole evening. Ain't that right, Special Agent DiNozzo?"

"I'm just hungry." Tony said with a big smile.

The leader laughed and shook his head before saying: "I know your kind, kid and I like it. But if you don't shut up now you force us to make you shut up."

Tony looked the leader in the eyes, his green eyes met the brown ones with no intent to back down. The brown ones determined to win the contest this time.

But Tony's clear green eyes made the man uneasy and he broke the contact to look over to the other man and nodded. Before Tony could react, he was hit hard in the back of his head and his world went black.

* * *

Tony woke up slowly, he had a killer headache so it took him a couple of minutes remember what had happened.

At least the others are safe, he thought as he worked out the kinks on his neck and shoulders and the he looked around.

He was tied to a chair in the middle of a small room which had four grey walls and one door. The chair he was in was the only thing on the room.

The door opened, a masked man stepped in, Tony caught a glimpse of the corridor with two men in it before the man closed the door behind him.

Tony looked up at the masked man, recognizing the brown eyes and the body language imidetly, so he smiled.

"So you are not afraid of me anymore?" he kept his voice mocking and his eyes straight ahead as the man walked around him. "Just because I'm tied to a chair doesn't mean that I'm not dangerous."

"Didn't anyone tell you that you talk way to much?" The man whispered in Tony's ear.

"When you mention it, it comes to my mind that a few people have told me that. But I made them change their minds." Tony said in a cocky voice, trying not to react as the man whispered into his other ear.

"Well, you can forget trying to charm your way out of this, pretty boy."

"You don't really think that Gibbs would fall for this?" Tony said looking straight ahead.

"Don't you think so?" The man said in a mocking voice as he stepped in front of Tony. "I'm pretty certain that he will come out of his hiding when he hears that you were taken and when he sees this."

"See what?" Tony felt a feeling of dread creep into his stomach.

"You can't see it but we have a camera installed in this room and a ling will be mailed to your co-workers and they will see that we mean business." The man laughed. " Let's give them something to watch."

Tony steeled himself as he called the other men into the room, they had sticks in their hands and after a nod from the leader they walked up to him and started to hit.

The agent clenched his mouth shut, promising himself that he would not scream. The beating went on for what it seemed like hours until Tony lost his consciousness due to the pain. The only sound that had come out off him were small grunts.

When the leader saw Tony's shoulders slump and his head hang he stopped his men.

"That's enough for now. This will make his co-workers see that we are serious.

* * *

Gibbs took the sate lit phone from Franks, who sat down beside him, and held the phone to his ear.

"Gibbs."

"Hi, Jethro. It's Jen." The Director sounded a bit unsure and paused before she spoke. "We need you to come back."

"I quit, Jen." Gibbs said before taking a swing from the beer bottle. "Whatever problem you have, I'm sure that DiNozzo and his team can take care of it."

"Jethro..." Her voice sounded a little guilty and irritate at the same time. Gibbs could here someone elses voice in the background and suddenly another voice came onto the line.

"Jethro, my boy. We need you to come back. Now." Hearing Ducky's voice made Gibbs happy, he missed his old friend but the words and the tone made him worried.

"Why, Ducky?"

"Three armed men came into the office and asked for you."

"What happened, Ducky?" The uneasy feeling grew in his stomach.

"We couldn't really do anything, Jethro. No one except the Director knew where you were and they handcuffed us to the chairs. I have never been..."

"Please, Ducky, what happened?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry. They took Anthony from us."

"What?" Gibbs couldn't believe his ears and his stomach churned, yelling at him that this was serious.

"I'm sorry, Jethro." Ducky could hear that his old friend was very unsettled by the news. "They gave us 24 hours to contact you."

Gibbs was just about to ask why they had taken Tony when he was assaulted by memories. Memories of Tony smiling at him , the feeling of safety as he was beside the younger man, how his stomach fluttered when he saw Tony.

The memories were so alive, that he almost dropped the phone but he took a hold of himself.

"How long a go was that Ducky?"

"About four hours ago." Ducky said, then Gibbs heard something in the background again. "Hold on, Jethro, we got a mail..."

Gibbs waited and suddenly he heard Ducky's voice again, the tone of his old friend made him scared.

"Oh my..."

"Ducky, tell me what's going on!" He yelled into the phone.

"Jethro, my boy.." Ducky's voice were shocked. "You really need to come back. They sent a video link to the Directors mail..."

"What, Ducky?"

"They wanted us to know what's at stake here."

"I'll kill those bastards!" Gibbs was on his feet and walked towards the little house, Franks closely behind him.

"I'll help you with that." Ducky said. "Ziva is om her way, she would be there to get you in an hour or so. She is in a private jet."

"Alright, see you soon Ducky."

* * *

Gibbs was sitting on a private jet, Ziva was beside him as they looked the computer that she had brought with her.

Abby had come onto the screen her eyes red from crying, she was happy to see him but she hated the circumstances. Then she had blipped on her computer and the feed that Ducky and the Director had watched came up on their screen.

They saw Tony tied to a chair, his head hanging down and you could see that he was unconscious but he woke up almost imeditaly.

Gibbs felt relived when he saw the younger man as he looked the small room but his stomach droppen when the door opened and a masked man stepped in.

Both Gibbs and Ziva's eyes were glued to the screen as the the two men talked, they couldn't hear what was saying. After a few minutes, the door opened again and two men with sticks in their hands stepped in. The older and former NCIS-agent paled and his knuckles whitened as he squeezed the handles of the chair when the men started to beat Tony.

"I'm going to kill does bastards slowly!" Ziva said in a hard voice.

"You and me both." Gibbs said his voice hard as a rock. "Can't this plane go any faster?"

* * *

The elevator pinged making McGee look up from his desk and when he saw Gibbs and Ziva walk out of it, he smiled.

"Hey, boss... um... Gibbs." McGee stuttered glad to see his boss.

"McGee."

"Bossman!" Abby yelled as she came rushing down the bullpen and threw herself into Gibbs arms. "I missed you so much!"

"I missed you to, Abby." Gibbs said with a small smile, forgetting for a moment why he was there.

"You are going to get Tony back?" Abby asked with eyes full of tears as she looked at Gibbs.

"Yes, Abby. We'll get him back and those bastards will pay." Gibbs said as he stroke her cheek and the turned back to the others. "What have we got so far?"

"Almost nothing." McGee started to say but was interrupted bu the Director as she walked up to Gibbs.

"Nice to see you, Jethro." She said with a smile.

"Madame Director." Gibbs voice was cold. "Ziva told me that you got a phone call from Fornell."

"Yes, he said that someone had put a price on your head." The Director said and as Gibbs started to bark out orders she walked away.

"Ziva get me Fornell on the phone and McGee, get me the security tapes from the bullpen from that night."

"Just a few minutes boss." McGee said as he started to blip on his computer.

"Here, Fornell is on the other line." Ziva handed Gibbs the phone.

The FBI-agent was glad to hear from his friend but not so happy about what had happened in the NCIS- building. Fornell told Gibbs that he had gotten his tip from an underground snitch and he promised Gibbs that he would do anything to find out more information. Gibbs thanked him, hung up and looked over to McGee.

"Just a second boss." McGee said as he furiously tapped on the keyboard. "It's done."

Gibbs, Ziva, Abby and McGee gathered in front of the plasma screen and watched the security cameras video.

Gibbs watched his three former team mebmers working late behind their desks, his heart jumped when he saw Tony. The younger agent looked a little tired but as handsome as ever.

He kept his eyes on Tony as the younger man answered his phone, McGee told him that it was the Director calling, telling Tony to gather the whole team.

A few minutes late, she walked down into the bullpen and it didn't take long before the elevator doors opened, Abby and Ducky stepped out with three armed and masked men behind them.

Gibbs watched the whole scene almost unblinking until the three men walked out with Tony.

The screen went black and the rest of the world came back. Gibbs looked at McGee, Ziva and Abby in their eyes before saying anything.

"So, what are this tape showing us." He said.

"Um, it ain't a tape, boss.." McGee stuttered.

"McGee..." Gibbs said in his boss voice.

"That they were professionals." Ziva said. "They moved like they were trained and had rehearsed this.!

"And they knew a lot of things." Abby said. "Like about the gun and the extra pair of handcuffs in your desk."

"They handcuffed all of you but not Tony?" Gibbs asked out loud, frowning. "Was that planned or accidentally?"

"I think it was planned." McGee said thinking back. "They must have been watching us for quite a while. They knew that we always worked late, since you left and they that we would be the only ones left at that hour."

"They must also know the security guards sheaduel." Ziva said. "They came in shortly after the guards checked upon us and they left just around five minutes before the guards came back."

"So they knew alot about NCIS security routines and about the team but not about me leaving NCIS? Why?"

"We never talked about it." Abby said sounding sad. "When I think back I think that no one else than we knows that you quit."

"I agree." Ziva said. " I think that the Director didn't want anyone to now that her best agent quit."

Gibbs looked at her, opening his mouth to disagree but the looks from Ziva, McGee and Abby made him shut it again. If he thought that another agent with his experience had done what he had done, he knew that the Director would hush it down.

"So without Gibbs here, no one knowing where he was they assumed that he was undercover or something." McGee said.

"And they got nervous, because they have been watching us for a long time." Ziva said.

The others nodded, they had a few answerers but they still didn't know who had done it.

"Well, we need to make a list." Abby said looking at Gibbs.

"What kind of list?" Ziva asked confused.

"Such a list Tony had to make when he was being framed for murder." McGee said in a low voice.

Ziva looked at McGee still confused, then she looked at Gibbs and she understood, she shook her head.

"Do we really have that much paper! She said but smiled a small smile when the head slap came.

"Let's get to work, people." Gibbs grunted.

* * *

Tony was on a sunny beach, the waves were crashing softly onto the sand and giving him a sense of calm. He looked away from the waves and saw someone walking towards him.

He couldn't see who it was at first but as the figure came closer he recognized her and he smile big. It was Kate.

"Hello, Tony." She said as she smiled back at him.

"Hey Kate. You aren't wearing your school uniform." Tony still pictured her sometimes in that uniform.

"No, not today you pervert." She said sounding as she always did before. Then she became serious. "What are you doing here, Tony? You can't give up."

"I haven't given up." Tony said as he sat down on the sand, Kate sat down beside him. "I'm just taking a break."

"I know it's hard, Tony but I also know that you don't want to die."

"Maybe, but I'm tired Kate." He hung his head as memories from his past came to him. "So tired."

"I understand that." Kate moved closer, laid her head upon his shoulder and looked out over the ocean. "I didn't know before but I do know now. You have had a hard life but you have to keep on fighting. If you do that, you will get what you want."

Tony leaned his head against hers, smelling her hair and he felt a little less tired.

"Are you sure about that?"

"If you keep on fighting and don't give up, he will come for you."

"I really miss you, Kate."

"I really miss you too, Tony. Take care now and try to keep out of trouble." Kate smiled big before she gave him a hug and got up. She moved away slowly and Tony kept his eyes on her figure, not really wanting to lose her again and as she kept getting further and further away, he felt more and more pain.

Tony opened his eyes slowly, his breath uneven because of the pain. He was still tied to the chair and he could barely feel his hands which were still tied with the plastic ties behind his back.

He moved his head and shoulders carefully, but he felt the blood started trickle down his hands again. He ignored it and tried to figured out how badly they had beaten him.

After a few minutes of aganoy, he was pretty sure that nothing was broken maybe one or two of his ribs were cracked but nothing more serious.

But he knew that under his shirt his body was colored in many different shades of black and blue. He looked up as heard the door open and the masked man stepped into the room again.

"I'm glad to see you awake again, Special Agent DiNozzo." The leader said.

"I can't actually say the same." Tony's said in a raspy voice, but his eyes were unwavering looking the other man straight in the eye.

"Don't be like that or I'll get my men to come back with their sticks." The man said standing in front of Tony. "Last time I told them to avoid hitting your pretty face so your boss and friends would recognize you but this time I'll let them go all the way."

Tony just looked at the other man, he shifted his head a little to the right and studied the man. The room were silent and when Tony saw that the other man was just about to speak, Tony smiled.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was supposed to be really scared by that?" The mocking was very clear in his voice. "Sorry but I have met people alot scarier than you."

The man took a step closer and hit Tony hard on his cheek were he had been hit before making the agent see stars but it didn't stop Tony from talking.

"I could tell you about one of them, this was this kid that liked McGee alot more then he liked me..." He was interrupted by another hard blow and this time he thought he heard a crack. His vision almost went black. But the masked man grabbed the agent by the throat, shaking him roughly back.

"You talk way to much for your own good."

"Didn't we already establish that?" Tony said and braced himself for another hit but it didn't come.

"You really are an smart ass." The man straightened himself as he let go of Tony. "I didn't come here for this, not that I don't enjoy this but we have business to attend to."

He fished a cellphone out from his pocket and held it out for Tony to see.

"Recognize this?" It was Tony's cell phone. "I'm going to call your co-workers to see if they have done what I asked them to."

Tony just looked at the man as thoughts raced thru his head. Had his team found Gibbs? If they had would Gibbs fall for the trap? The masked man fingered on Tony's cell phone and held it to his ear.

* * *

Gibbs was sitting at his desk, thinking about the list over who could hold a grudge against him. Ziva and McGee already were working on a paper each and were trying to find the people on it.

He looked over at Tony's desk, he really missed the younger agent, his smile and his voice.

Gibbs closed his eyes, ran a hand over his face when suddenly the phone on his desk rang.

"Gibbs."

"Nice to hear your voice, Special Agent Gibbs. That means that Special Agent DiNozzo here may come out of this alive." A smug voice said.

"If you hurt him I'll haunt you down and kill you!" Gibbs said in a angry voice but his stomach felt queasy.

"Oh, I'm sorry but you are a little to late for that, Special Agent Gibbs. You know that trouble draws yo out young agent like bees to honey."

"What do you want?"

"I want you of course."

"I need to speak to Tony."

"Alright, he's here next to me." Gibbs could hear something in the background before a raspy voice spoke.

"Boss?"

"Are you okay, Tony?" Gibbs stomach made a flipflop at hearing Tony's voice.

"I'm fine, boss." Tony was glad to hear Gibbs voice but at the same time worried.

"Why doesn't I believe you?" Gibbs asked in a sarcastic voice.

"So you don't think that Mr Masked man here and his two buddies are taking care of me?" Gibbs could see Tony's bog smile as the young man spoke. "All I need is a window and a bed and this room will be alot more comfy than your basement."

"You can't tell me anymore about the place?"

"Not much..." The phone changed speaker making Gibbs really frustrated.

"That's enough." The other man spoke again. "He is alive and you are back at the office. My boss want you, so we exchange you for him and if you don't do as we say, we will kill him and send you the pieces."

"Don't you dare." Gibbs said. "Tell me how you want to do this."

The man started to speak but was interrupted by something, Gibbs could hear shouting and a loud thump.

"What's happening?" He almost yelled into the phone.

"Relax, you know that your Special Agent is a feisty one." The man sounded out of breath and annoyed. "He didn't want you to come but I know that you will."

Gibbs listened to the instructions and wrote them down. After he had hung up, he looked down at the paper and then looked up.

Ziva, McGee and Abby, who had appeared during the call, looked at him with big eyes.

"So, what did they say, bossman?" Abby asked worried.

"They want to trade him for me." Gibbs said as he folded the paper and stood up.

"Hold on, Gibbs. You can't just go there whit out backup." Ziva said upset.

"She is right, boss." McGee said. "We want Tony back but we don't want to loose you at the same time."

"Let us help." Abby said jumping from one foot to the other. "We can do this together."

Gibbs looked at each and one of them, glad to see that they were so loyal and glad for their help. But he couldn't let them in on the whole plan, he couldn't risk Tony's life, he knew that these men were the real deal.

* * *

"That was pretty easy." The masked man said as he looked down to his left, he kneeled beside the agent who was lying down on the floor still tied to the chair.

"Gibbs is never going to do this." Tony said in a defiant voice.

"On the contrary Special Agent DiNozzo. I believe or more correctly I know that he will come. And he will do as we says as long as we have you."

"Don't be so sure of that."

"But I'm." The masked man ruffled Tony's hair before standing up, he looked at the two men who had come in when Tony had tried to shout to Gibbs not to fall into the trap. The leader had hit him in the face then the two men had come in and one of them had grabbed Tony by the throat and pushed him down, still attached to the chair.

"Let's get ready to move." The leader said as he walked out of the little room.

Tony was hauled up, sitting when one of the men took out a knife and loosened the bonds that held Tony to the chair.

"Let's go, pretty boy."

The NCIS- agent tried to stand up, got up on his second try because h was assaulted by dizziness and pain from his beaten body. He tried to take a step forward but his legs gave out and he fell to the floor.

He didn't lay long on the floor, the two men hauled him up and dragged him out of the room.

While the men had dragged him, Tony had caught a glimpse of the leader who was standing over a computer and talking into a phone. He caught a little of the conversation the leader had with the person on the other line.

"Yes, I'm seeing the old man's reaction now... Well I knew that the kid meant something to the guy.." Then Tony was thrown into the van and the doors were shut and he was left alone.

For a second Tony just lay completely still not wanting to move at all and he thought about what he had heard.

"The old man" must be Gibbs, did that mean that they had planted some camera in the office or had they hacked into the security system or something?

Tony couldn't believe that Gibbs would fall for this, he must have a plan or something.

The doors opened, the leader got into the passenger side, one of the two men got into the back with Tony while the third man got into the drivers seat. Then they drove off.

* * *

Gibbs was standing, leaning against his car in an deserted parking lot. He had told the others that he would go and get food but instead he had driven to the meeting place. He looked at his watch, they should be here soon and he was right about that.

A black van pulled into the parking lot, it parked a few meters from Gibbs and then the passenger door opened.

"Nice to see you Special Agent Gibbs." The NCIS-agent recognized the voice from the call earlier. "I'm glad that you decided to follow our instructions, this parking lot has been under surveillance for a long time."

Gibbs forced himself not to look around, he kept eye contact with the masked man.

"Where is Tony?" He asked in a gruff voice.

"Relax, he is in the van."

"Then I want to see him now."

"Do you really think that you can make demands?" The masked man asked. "I could get him kill right now."

"I know that, bastard." Gibbs said pushing himself from the car. "But you wont."

The man made a small nod and knocked on the side of the van. The back doors opened, a man stepped out and he had Tony with him.

Gibbs stomach fluttered when he saw the younger agent, he had really missed him. The man dragged Tony so he was standing between the masked leader and himself.

The older NCIS-agent looked closely at Tony, he seemed alright at first glance but when he looked closer Gibbs saw the bruises on Tony's throat and cheekbone.

Gibbs clenched his fists when he saw Tony straighten himself but only came halfway because of the pain.

"Are you alright, Tony?" Gibbs asked his voice colored by worry.

"I'm fine, boss." Tony said his voice raspy. "Why did you come here?"

"I told you pretty boy." The leader said as he grabbed Tony's arm and held him close. "Strangely he cares about you."

"But usually he ain't this stupid." Tony looked the leader straight in the eyes.

"Sometimes feelings clouds the mind." The man said as he tried to tare his eyes from the green ones that but somehow those green eyes scared him.

"Maybe it's your mind that are clouded." Tony said with a sarcastic voice. "I bet that you let your goones here do all the hard work and you spend their money. I also believe that they do the difficult things for like cutting your food and ties your shoelaces."

The man grabbed Tony by the throat and slammed him against the side of the van, making the younger man hit his head so hard that his vision went black.

Gibbs moved towards them very fast but the other man stepped in his way. Gibbs punched him first in the stomach and then in the face and the man was down. Then he grabbed the leader and hauled him back so he lost his grip on Tony, the young man fell to the ground in a heap.

Gibbs fought the leader, both were equally strong but Gibbs were really angry so they tumbled on the ground and the NCIS-agent was getting the upper hand of the fight when a voice rang out:

"Stop it or pretty boy here dies!"

Gibbs looked up and saw a third man holding Tony with a gun pressed against his head.

The older agent held his hands out and stepped away from the masked man who was lying on the ground.

"Just take it easy." Gibbs said as he tried to stay calm.

"Are you alright, chief?" The man with the gun asked the leader.

"I'm fine." The leader said as he got up, brushed off his clothes and walked by Gibbs. He glared at the older man and was just about to say something when his cellphone started to ring. He fished it out of his pocket and held it to his ear.

"Yes, aha.. aha.. Alright." His head nodded as he listened on the person on the other line. "As you wish." And with that he hung up the phone and put it in his pocket.

"A change of plans." His voice were smug and you could here the smile behind the mask. "We are taking both of you with us."

Gibbs clenched his fist and was just about to protest when the leader pulled out a gun also pointing it at Tony's head.

"My employer wants both of you but mostly he wants you." He looked at Gibbs. "So if you don't come, we will shoot Special Agent DiNozzo right here and the leave him to die here, alone. It's you choice."

"Don't fall for it, Gibbs." Tony said, his voice were weak and he lost his breath as the leader punched him in the stomach.

"Stop it." Gibbs said holding his hands in the air. "I'm coming with you."

The leader nodded, then he told the man who Gibbs had hit to get into the drivers seat of the van while the other man got into the back with Tony.

The leader pointed his gun at Gibbs and they both got into his car, then they were off.

* * *

"Shouldn't Gibbs be back by now?" McGee asked Ziva and Abby. "He has been gone for like an hour."

"I'll call him." Abby said, picking up the phone in her lab and dialed Gibbs cellphone. After a minute or so she hung up and dialed it again. "He's not answering."

"Damn!" Ziva said out loud. "He went after them by himself."

Abby and McGee just looked at her in disbelief but then they both nodded.

"We need to call the local police so they keeps an eye out for Gibbs car." McGee said with panic in his voice and started to reach for the phone.

"I don't think that you need to do that." Abby said with a smile. Ziva and McGee looked at her with confusion in their eyes. But it cleared when Abby told them what she had done.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Gibbs asked as he drove behind the van.

"Just follow the van and you will see." Gibbs nodded and kept on driving.

They drove for like an hour, the van drove into an area that held abandon apartment houses, then it drove down into a parking garage under one of the houses and Gibbs was closely behind.

"Park to the right." The leader said as he pointed to the right of the van. Then they both stepped out of the car.

The driver of the van got out opened the back dors and helped the man there with Tony.

"Let's get a move on." The leader said grabbing Gibbs arm while the other two men grabbed each one of Tony's arms.

They stepped into an elevator, the leader pushed on a button and the elevator moved.

Gibbs turned around to check on Tony, the younger agent looked a little pale and Gibbs became worried when he noticed that the two men were the force that held Tony standing. If they would let go the young man would fall into a heap.

Gibbs was just about to say something to Tony when the elevator stopped and the doors opened. The leader grabbed his arm and pushed him into movement and the others followed.

They stepped into a dark hallway, to the right was a door that it stood STAIRS on. They walked past a few doors on their way to the door at the end of the hallway.

The leader knocked on the door, waited for a minute before opening the door and they all stepped in.

The room looked like a big office, across from the door was a big wide window and you could see the city not far away. In front of the window was a big desk and a chair. To the right a wall full of television screens were, Gibbs looked closely at the screens and saw the parking lot where they had been and on another he saw the bullpen.

"Impressive, huh?" A deep voice said and Gibbs turned away from the wall with the screens and looked at the man who had spoken.

"You?" He said in disbelief.

"Yes, Jethro. Long time no see?" The man walked over to Gibbs and looked the agent in the eyes. "You look well."

"What are you doing Thomas?" Gibbs said in a cold voice as he kept eye contact with the other man who ignored his question as he moved towards the two men who were holding Tony on his feet.

Thomas looked closely at Tony, grabbed the younger mans chin to study his face closer.

"So this is your new toy? I can see the attraction."

"Thomas, don't." Gibbs said warily.

Thomas turned around to face Gibbs again with a smile on his face.

"Have I really found Leroy Jethro Gibbs Achilles heal?" He asked as he walked closer to the NCIS agent. "For a while I didn't think that you had any weakness at all."

"What do you want, Thomas?" Gibbs said sounding tired.

"I want you broken!" Thomas said in a high voice. "You took everything away from me! Everything!"

"No, Thomas. You did that to yourself, I only caught you."

"No! You took Shannon from me after sending me to jail." Thomas was standing face to face with Gibbs his fist clenched and his shoulders tense.

"You did beat her and forced her working with drugs." Gibbs voice was hard as he remembered.

He was working at an military base as a Military police officer when a call from a woman who was being beaten by her boyfriend. When Gibbs came to the crime scene he caught Thomas beating Shannon, he arrested him and then the police found a drug lab. Thomas had been making and selling drugs, forcing people to work for him.

He had gotten 20 years in prison after Shannon had witness against him after Gibbs had persuaded her. They had started dating a few weeks after the trial.

"I felt so good when she was killed." Thomas said looking at Gibbs."But the hunger for revenge won't disappear until you are broken."

"Are you saying that you had something to do with Shannon's death?" Gibbs said his eyes cold as ice and his voice hard as iron.

Thomas smiled and Gibbs saw red, he moved towards the other man really fast and grabbed his throat.

"I'm going to kill you with my bare hands." Gibbs said thru gritted teeth.

"I don't think so. Let him go!" The masked leader said making Gibbs look over his shoulder. "If you don't let go of Thomas, I'll cut Special Agent DiNozzo's throat."

Gibbs looked at Tony who had a knife pressed against his throat but strangely the young agent looked calm.

"Do I gave to show you that I'm serious?" The masked man asked. "Do you really want to see him bleed?"

Before Gibbs could answer the man lowered the knife and stabbed Tony in the arm.

The young agent clenched is mouth shut, not wanting to scream but the pain were overwhelming. He tried to breath thru his nose but it didn't help, he closed his eyes wanting to black out but the feel of cold steel in his arm ,made the adrenaline rush thru his body and making him awake.

Gibbs stared at the masked man and the hand that was holding the knife still in Tony's arm, he let go of Thomas and moved towards them with his hands clear.

"Are you going to behave now?" The leader asked."Or do I have to show you more?"

"I'm not going to do anything." Gibbs said his voice low as he kept his eyes on Tony.

"Put them in the other room." Thomas said in a raspy voice as he looked at Gibbs with cold eyes. "You will regret this."

Thomas walked up to Tony, waved away the masked man, grabbed the handle of the knife and yanked it out.

Tony's world became white because of the pain and he gasped out loud. He barley felt that he was being dragged out of the room and thrown into another. Suddenly he felt a cool hand on his forehead and he heard a voice.

"You got to fight it, Tony. He is with you now."

Gibbs grabbed a hold onto Tony's bleeding arm as he reached for the bandages the masked man had thrown into the room after them.

"I'm sorry Tony, I should have kept cool." Gibbs said as he bandage Tony's arm.

"Why did you come?" Tony's voice was low and filled with pain but his eyes looked at Gibbs.

"Because they had you." Gibbs said as he looked into Tony's green eyes. "I just couldn't let them kill you."

"But you left, I haven't heard from you."

"I didn't remember until now." Gibbs voice were sad and filled with self accusation.

"Well don't you forget me again." Tony said with a small smile.

"Don't worry, it won't happen again." Gibbs leaned forward and kiss Tony lightly on the forehead.

Tony closed his eyes, glad to have Gibbs with him. He drew a deep shuddering breath as pain from his bound arms assaulted him. He looked up and saw that Gibbs was taking a look at his wrist.

"I'm sorry, Tony but I need to get you hands free."

Tony just looked at Gibbs and then nodded. So the older man fished out his knife that he always had with him and he took a closer looked at the young mans wrists.

The plastic ties had chaffed off the skin, making the wrist bleed, then the blood had dried and the wrist had swollen. The ties were in bedded in Tony's wrists.

Gibbs took a deep breath, before cutting the ties as carefully he could. Tony groaned as he removed the ties completely and Gibbs wrapped the carefully.

"Why is that you are always the one getting hurt?" Gibbs mumbled to himself believing that the younger man had passed out.

"Because it's better than you getting hurt." Tony's voice was barely a whisper.

"I can't agree on that." Gibbs as he helped Tony lay in a more comfortable position.

"I'm tired." The young man said.

"Then rest for a bit, I'll not let anyone hurt you again."

Tony sighed, feeling safe for the first time after a long while and Gibbs watched as he fell asleep.

* * *

"I hope that we aren't to late." McGee said worriedly as he held onto the car door when Ziva took a harp turn in high speed.

"Don't worry we will be there soon." Ziva said as she stepped on the gas pedal again.

* * *

Gibbs was running his hand thru Tony's soft hair and Tony sighed in content. He looked up at the older man and asked.

"Do you think that Probie and Ziva will find us?"

"I know that they are on their way." Gibbs said and he was just about to say more when the door opened, revealing Thomas.

Gibbs jumped onto his feet and positioned himself so he was blocking Tony.

"You will not leave this building alive!" Thomas said and he pointed a gun at Gibbs.

Suddenly the elevator doors opened and the door that it stood STAIRS on was kicked in. The air filled with voices screaming:

"FBI!"

"NCIS!"

People filled the hallway and Gibbs jumped the surprised Thomas and it didn't take long before Gibbs had beaten the crap out of the other man.

Gibbs stood up, when Ziva and McGee made their way towards him. They smiled at him before going to Tony fussing over the injured agent.

"I'll take him for now." Fornell said hauling Thomas onto his feet.

"Thanks, Tobias."

Gibbs walked up to his NCIS-agents as they helped Tony stand up and they slowly made their way out.

They watched as the FBI-agents lead out the three masked men that weren't masked now.

The leader with his brown eyes stare at Tony before he was hauled off.

"That man really gave me the shivers." Ziva said as she looked after him.

"The creeps, Ziva!" Tony and McGee said.

They all laughed as they got into the car and drove off.

The End


End file.
